Cleveland.com reports that Kyrie Irving had more than his pride hurt when he wasn't voted an All-Star starter on Thursday. Irving was signed to a max extension last summer coming off his rookie contract, which meant that if he fulfilled certain requirements, he'd hit the "Derrick Rose" stipulation. One of those was getting voted an All-Star starter and the other (MVP) is unlikely.
Which means Irving lost out on a huge sum of money.
Had Irving made the cut, he stood to earn an extra $7-$10 million because of a rule in the current collective bargaining agreement commonly called the "Derrick Rose" provision. The CBA as it relates to player salaries is often complicated, but, the five-year, $90 million contract extension Irving signed with the Cavaliers last summer made him eligible for an even higher earning rate if he were to meet certain criteria.
Irving's two chances for the higher rate -- which would be based on next year's salary cap, which has not yet been set -- were to either earn fan votes into the All-Star Game this season or win the league's Most Valuable Player award, which is highly unlikely.
Now, Irving is still making over $14 million next year with huge raises every year. So it's not like he's hurting. But given that he plays on one of the most star-studded teams in the league, and that he's coming off an All-Star MVP run last year and a FIBA MVP run last summer, it's kind of a bummer that he missed out, especially given the money.
But then, if Irving had bothered to defend a fast break at any point (his individual half-court defense has improved to "not awful") or had the Cavaliers lived up in any way to lofty preseason expectations, he might have already punched his ticket.
Even making the All-Star team is going to be tough for Irving. The coaches are likely to vote in at least one if not more of the Atlanta Hawks, and Jeff Teague is making a significant run at Irving's slot in the Eastern Conference star point guards. Dwyane Wade is a lock as is Jimmy Butler, so the backcourt is getting crowded.
Either way, it's pretty tough to realize that you're averaging 21 points and five assists and didn't make it. Should have gotten to be better buds with Bieber.
